To Be Loved is Better than to Be Famous
by Hannibal3125
Summary: An email from family can sometimes say something we can't put into words ourselves...


To Be Loved is Better than to be Famous

Disclaimers: I own nothing. NOTHING! (Though, one can always dream...)

A/N: This is my first attempt at romantically inclined fanfiction and at G.I.JOE fanfiction. Hopefully, I will do both justice. The contents of the email are something I saw somewhere and the central idea of this story jumped out at me. It seemed quite appropriate. It just took me a while to write this, largely from trying to wrap my brain around the idea that Beach Head CAN get a date, much less a girlfriend. So, hopefully, you'll enjoy.

Author: Hannibal3125

Rating: T

Summary: An email from family can sometimes say something we can put into words ourselves...

Courtney Krieger, former model, current tank driver, sat on the couch in her quarters in the Pit. On her lap was her computer. On the rare days off she got, she always took the time in the afternoon to sift through her email and respond to those from friends and family. She also got a chuckle out of some of the spam-mail she got.

"Let's see..work-from-home...I already sorta do that, so goodbye...enlarge your - don't have one...Ti..Tina?"

She smiled a little. Tina was her cousin. She'd had the looks for modeling as well, but had preferred to become a news reporter instead. While she hadn't shared Courtney's philosophy at the time of "If you've got, flaunt it," she'd admitted that each person was different. Courtney hadn't ever understood why her cousin had turned down several jobs for the big networks and remained a local news reporter. Tina had simply smiled and told her that when it was her turn, she'd probably understand fully.

Now, there was an email from her on Courtney's laptop. Curiously, she clicked to open it.

YO JOE!

Outside, on the obstacle course, several Joes were doing one-handed pushups. One stood over them, cursing and shouting at them if they didn't do something exactly right.

Alpine, Ace, and Shipwreck were also quietly talking.

Alpine slipped, scrambled back up on his left hand, and muttered to the others. "I thought the idea behind helping Beach's relationship was to make him relax and mellow a little."

"Yeah, it seems like he's actually gotten _worse_ since they started dating." Ace had already decided that, if he hadn't put money on them eventually getting married, he'd have tried to break them up just to get Beach Head back to his normal sadistic self.

Shipwreck smirked. "You guys don't get it, do you?"

The others glared back at him. "And you do?" Alpine asked.

"Of course I do. After all, I'm Shipwreck. Wouldn't you think I know plenty about such relationships?"

The incredulous looks answered his question rather discouragingly.

"Hey, just because I'm rarely in one doesn't mean that I don't know anything about them.

Anyway, Beach's issue here is that when he's off-duty, he can spend as much time as he wants with his lady. This PT keeps him on duty longer, meaning he now has less time to spend with her. And so-"

"Got it on one, Sailor! And since you lousy, worthless, scumbag maggots are the reason I'm stuck out here until dinner, I'm going to give you a little encouragement to _never again_ print up posters that announce Scarlett is having a baby shower and _definitely_ not put one on _Duke's or Scarlett's __office door!_ Since I have to babysit the lot of you psycho miscreants, I don't get my off-duty time. And so I am going to take it out on you by making you wish you were lucky enough to be used as one of Mindbender's experiments!"

And with that and a litany of multilingual curses, he made them run suicide sprints through the obstacle course.

YO JOE! 

Courtney opened the email from Tina. It was titled, "Some Thoughts on Love".

"_Dear Court,_

_A while back, you asked why I turned down the big network jobs and passed up being rich and __famous._

_Well, a coworker sent me an email a couple of years ago with this list of little proverbs about __love. I've attached it to this email. It should answer that question. _

_Based on some of the emails your mom has forwarded, I think you're finally ready for __what it says._

_Love, _

_Tina ;)_

Courtney clicked on the attachment and read the list. Tina was right; it was a short list of proverb-like sayings about love. Then she came to the seventh one in the list.

_To be loved is better than to be famous._

Courtney stopped. She reread the line twice. "To be loved is better than to be famous."

She thought about that statement. She'd been famous. Her modeling career had made her very famous. It had meant that she'd never need money again, and guaranteed that everyone she was likely to meet on the job knew her. It had also guaranteed that several people who would have been better classified as pondscum had tried to "be her friend", "get to know her", etc.Ultimately, the false friends and would-be suitors had played a part in her leaving the modeling industry. But even they weren't the main reason.

She'd reached the top of the modeling world only to find that, when everyone else is beneath you, no one is there with you. The truth of the adage, "It's lonely at the top" had struck home in a way that had left her sobbing when alone more than once. She'd had no real friends...no one to love her for who she was. Her life, her career, her fame...it had all been empty.

Her mind quickly compared her life before and now. Now she was in the Army, essentially unknown as an individual. She was part of a top-secret military task force - not much opportunity for fame there.

And she was happy.

She actually had friends. People she could share her feelings and thoughts with; people who cared about her as a person, not a meal ticket. A soft knock on the door reminded her of one more person. Someone she knew she could share anything with - her heart, her dreams...everything. Sure enough, when she opened the door, there stood Wayne, sans balaclava. It was ironic that his reputation had him as a man's man, and yet, with her, he was the poster boy for masculine sensitivity. She knew he cared.

"Hey, Court." He kissed her on the cheek. "Ready for dinner?"

She kissed him like she hadn't seen him for a year. When she stopped, it was all he could do to remember his name was Wayne Sneeden. A second later, he regained full awareness of his surroundings and smiled at her.

"Wow. I don't suppose you'll tell me what I did to earn that. I need to know so I can do it again."

She laughed and turned the laptop toward him. He read the email, then looked back at her.

"Well, looks like chick stuff to me." She'd have been annoyed if she hadn't seen the little smirk that she 'd finally learned meant he was joking with her.

"So, based on your personal experience, is it better to be loved than to be famous?"

"Oh, yeah." She playfully slapped his arm and smiled at him.

And as they walked, Cover Girl couldn't help but think, _Much better._

The End...

A/N: I know, Beach Head isn't the typical sort for being "sensitive". But many guys who act big and bad normally are surprisingly sensitive and caring with those they love.

So, unless I receive irrefutable evidence that says he wouldn't and doesn't act this way, I'm going to give him the benefit of a doubt and assume he does.


End file.
